Concrete pole



YNlarcll 31, 1931. 1 F NE PAGE 1,798,982

CONCRETE POLE Filed April 7, 1927 /NVE/V TUR A TTU/@MEV Patented Mar. 31, 1931 JUsTUs r. NE PAGE, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON CONCRETE POLE Application led April 7, 1927. Serial N0. 181,728.

My invention relates to improvements in concrete poles in general and particularly to moulded concrete poles oi' artistic design, such as are used as ornamental street lighting 6 standards preferably as manufactured by the A process speciiied and claimed in my co-pending application for U. S. patent, Serial Number l45,568,f1led Nov. l, 1926.

It is the practice to erect such lighting standards on the `side walk andas near the edge oi' the curb as practicable in order to reduce the obstruction to pedestrian traiiic to a minimum. In many instances, heretofore, vehicles vhaving abnormally long hubs T and other projecting parts have chipped and broken the surface of the concrete from the lighting standards. The gashes lett in such cases are unsightly and detract from their otherwise pleasing appearance. This obviously isa serious objection to the use ot llighting standards made of concretious materials in districts where the vehicular trailic is heavy; yet these districts are the ones where ornamental lighting standards are most used.

125 The principal object of my invention is to provide improved means for armoring concrete poles and the like against abrasions, chipping and surface breakage.

Another object is to provide a means of simplifying the manufacture of `concrete lighting standards, poles, posts andthe like.

A further obj ect of the invention resides in providing means for themanui'acture or" ornamental street lighting standards that combine the desirable surface finish of cast metal with the strength, endurance and -low `cost of moulded concret y Other objects of the invention will be apparent 44from the following description and the accompanying drawings, and will be `particularly pointed out in the annexed claims.

The drawings clearly illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention in which:

Figure l, is an elevation of the base portion of an armored concrete, ornamental street 'lighting standard with a mid-section oi the supportingfoundation.

Fig. 12, is a combined plan view with a cross section taken at line AA, of iFig. 3, and is `assumed to fbe rotated 45 degrees in a counter clockwise direction from the positon of the aforesaid elevation view. BFg. 3, is a sectional elevation at line Like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout the drawings, in whichll is an ornamental street lighting standard having a concrete `body 5 rein- `forced by longitudinal steel rods 6 and a continuous steel spiral 7, both running the tull length `of the standard. `The lower ends of rods 6 are hooked at 8 and `engage holes in one end of angle anchoring lugs 9 as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The lighting standard l is shown supported by a concrete foundation 10 oi' sufiicient depth and base dimensions and in which bent foundation bolts 11 are cast in the usual man- `ner with their threaded ends 12 projecting y and fuses, not shown, maybe placed when required. A conduit pipe 15 is cast in the center of the lighting standard, to provide a raceway for the electrica-l conductors used to supply current to the lamps, not shown, mounted at or near the upper end lof the lighting standard.

Ready accessto spacelli is had by removing Va `metal Adoo-r 1:6, thus providing means for the installation or removal of the electrical equipment mentioned, and facilitating the making of electrical `connections to the lighting mains and lamp leads, not sho-wn. A drain pipe 18 passing under lighting `standard 4L and through the curb 19 at the outer edge of the side walk, is generally installed to serve as a drain for space 14 in order 'to guard against the accidental flooding ofthe electrical equipment. i

The base ,portion of lamp standard 4 is protected against surface abrasion, chipping I pearance.

and breakage by means of a metalv casing or armor 17, which may be made of iron, steel, brass or other material, and may be cast or made in any other way that practical requirements may dictate.

It has been found desirable to extend the lower edge of the armor 17 below'the surface of the sidewalk 19 in order to facilitate the erection of the lighting standard, and .to provide a neat and workmanlike connection between the armor 17 and sloping sidewalk or other surface 19. Y

Experience has shown the advantage of covering the projectingends 12 of bolts `11 and nuts 13 with a little sand as indicated at 19 before pouring the surface concrete 19', thus enabling nuts 13 to be unscrewed readily in case it becomes necessary, for'any reason, to remove the lighting standard.

VObviously the shape of the armor 17 may be made to conform to the artistic design desired, and is particularly applicable for busy thorofares where the traffic is often congested, and where the ornamentation for lighting standards of this type is more or less lavish. This is particularly true in cases where modifications of the Corinthian order of architecture are incorporated in the design, as heretofore it has been found necessary to make such designs with rather heavy proportions in order to be cast readily and successfully in concrete.

By means of my invention, however, the most elaborate designs may be readily cast or otherwise shaped in the metal armor 17, which is not subject to the limitations of concretious materials in this respect, and which provides ample strength to resist surface chipping and breakage.

It has been found desirable in some instances to enrich the appearance of the standard by making the base armor of brass or bronze which may be finished in natural tones of coloring thus producing a very rich ap- In such cases it is found desirable to provide an exterior covering 20, preferably of the same or similar material, for the balance of the body of the concrete standard. This exterior covering 20 may be made fromv comparatively thin sheet material, and arranged to fit over the top Vof the main metal- Varmor 17 yby means of a simple-slip joint as fings. By means of this construction the clearly indicated at 21 in Fig. 3, of the drawcompleted standard has Vthe appearance of being made entirely of bronze, yet possesses much greater strength.

It is apparent that the metal armor 17 and exterior covering 20 may be made comparatively thin as the metal is adequately supported throughout its length by means of the concrete, and need have only sufficient thick- Vlness to provide the necessary exteriorl finish and protection. For this reason, I'nd that such an ornamental street lighting standard can be manufactured at a fraction of the cost required to make it entirely of brass or bronze, as has been the practice heretofore.

The method of armoring concrete poles,

them, may be readily mounted within the form together with the necessary steel reinforcing rods k6, steel spiral 7, anchoring lugs 9 and conduit pipe 15.

The mould is then mounted for rotation in a vertical position and the concretious mixture poured slowly into its upper end While the mould and armor are rotated at such speed as to form a paraboloidal basin' into which the suds from said mixture are squeezed by the settling and centrifuging of the heavier particles toward the periphery. The suds are finally spilledn from the'top by suitable means as the solids rise and the mould is filled.

In this case, however, instead of shaping the mouldto conform to, the intricacies of the design, which has been necessary heretofore, I find that it is sufficient to provide a snug fit for the high points of the ornaments and a good bearing for the main surfaces of the metal armor 17 and cover 20, thus greatly reducing the cost of the moulds.

Another saving eected in the manufacturingprocess by my invention isthat the mouldsrn'aybe stripped from the standard much sooner after pouring the concrete, because-of the support afforded by the varmor and cover which in themselves act as sufficient static forms for the concrete after the removal of the mould sections. Hence fewer moulds are required for the production of a given number of lighting standards; or a greater number may be manufactured in a given time by means of a single form.

Obviously the metal; armor 17' and shield 20may be applied to existing poles or lighting standards by making the shield and armor slightly larger-than the bodyY of the poledor standard andvremoving from'said pole or standard suchprojections as the one indicated at 22 in the drawings. The concrete body 5 of the standard isthencovered with a thin coating, preferably,.of fine concrete or grouting and the metal armor and shield are forced into `position oneA at a 4time under pressure, thus squeezing out the excess grouting and edectively filling the space between the surfaces of the body of the stand- My invention is not necessarily limited to the details of construction shown and described in the specification, as the invention may be employed in other forms that would suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, without departing from' the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An ornamental lighting standard, comprising in combination, a reinforced concrete lighting standard of adequate strength for the normal requirements of the same, a relatively heavy metal casing or armor of artistic design adapted to encase and protect the sides of the base of said standard and eX- tending upwardly to a point above the usual Zone of trafiic abrasion and an ornamental covering of relatively thin metal encasing the standard above said armor.

2. As an article of manufacture, a relatively long concrete lighting standard having an expanding base portion, reinforcing means embedded in the concrete forming said standard an'd cooperating therewith to aiiord adequate strength for the normal requirements of the same, an ornamental metal armor on said expanding base capable of withstanding ordinary surface abrasion, and an ornamental covering of relatively thin metal supported on the upper portion of said standard and having connection with the upper end of said base armor and cooperating with the base armor to present the ap* pearance of an all metal standard.

3. The combination of a concrete lighting standard having an expanding base, rein forcing means embedded within said standard and coacting therewith to provide adequai-e strength for the normal requirements of the same7 a metal armor of artistic design encasing the base portion of said standard, and a relatively thin metal covering encasing the upper portion of the same above said armor and cooperating therewith to present the appearance of an all metal standard.

The foregoing specification signed at Seattle, Wash., this 30th day of March, 1927.

JUSTUS F. NE PAGE. 

